CALIFORNIA—On Monday, December 28, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that non-violent sex offenders can qualify for early parole.
In the opinion of the court, written by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, non-violent sex offenders qualify for early parole under The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016, also known as Proposition 57.
In November 2016, about two-thirds of California voters approved Proposition 57, which would “enhance public safety,” end “the revolving door of crime by emphasizing rehabilitation, and to prevent federal courts from releasing prisoners,” according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
The department lists three major components to Proposition 57:
- A “parole consideration process” for nonviolent offenders who served their entire term for “primary criminal offense” and demonstrated that they “no longer pose a current, unreasonable threat to the public.”
- Inmates can “earn additional credits for good behavior and participation in rehabilitative, educational, and career training programs” in order to prepare for success and “less likely to commit new crimes on the outside.”
- Judges, not prosecutors, will determine if “juveniles charged with certain crimes should be tried in juvenile or adult court.”
The CA Supreme Court indicated the initiative’s language “provides no indication that the voters intended to allow the (Corrections) Department” to exclude inmates from parole based on their “sex offense convictions” when “convicted of a nonviolent felony,” the ruling states.
As a result of the court’s ruling, around 20,000 inmates could be eligible for parole.
